


the thirty-six questions (ABANDONED)

by Anonymous



Category: 36 Questions (Podcast), キミガシネ | Kimi ga Shine | Your Turn To Die (Visual Novel)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Dialogue Heavy, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Possibly OOC, almost all the lines are stolen from the script, i mean it when i say 'dialogue heavy', uhh sara is a duck
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-15
Updated: 2020-11-18
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:48:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26959075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: "The date is Thursday, July 28, 2009. My name is Shin Tsukimi and I have been lying to my husband since the moment I met him."Shin Tsukimi has been lying to his husband for the past two years. He shows up on his front door in hopes to make things right.
Relationships: Chidouin Sara & Shinogi Keiji, Hiyori Sou | Tsukimi Shin/Shinogi Keiji
Comments: 10
Kudos: 49
Collections: Anonymous





	1. hear me out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> woo!! chapter 1 of this au that i've been working on 4 almost a week now!!
> 
> updates may be a little inconsistent, but i'll try to updated maybe once every two weeks or so? maybe quicker than that! this also isn't beta read, so i hope the flow of it's okay!!
> 
> anyways, please enjoy!!!

_The sound of a voice memo starts up. Shaky hands hold a phone. The sound of children singing is filling the gymnasium. A chair squeaks. Keiji turns to his boyfriend._

_"Sou," he whispered._

_"What?" Sou asked._

_"Put your phone away," Keiji said._

_"I'm recording it."_

_"You're recording it on your phone? When are you gonna-"_

_"It's a voice memo. Sit-"_

_"Why would you need a recording of my students singing? They're not that good."_

_"Well, I just thought- it's do easy to just-"_

_"Shh!"_

_The voice memo ended._

* * *

_Another voice memo starts up. This time Shin is inside his car, driving down a road._

_"Reminder to self: the Tanaka family tree. Three siblings: Ryuu, Mino, Akira," he said. The voice memo ends._

* * *

_Shin presses the little red "start" button on his voice memo app. This time Shin is a grocery store with his fiancée, Keiji. Pop music plays softly in the background, coming from the store's speakers._

_"No, you - can you say that again?" he asked. Keiji moved closer to him, with a box of a cereal in his hand._

_"About city hall?" Keiji asked._

_"Yeah!"_

_"My g-d, you're recording this?"_

_"Yes."_

_"What, so you can prove it in court?"_

_"Well, I just want you on the record. You are okay with not having a big wedding. No guests."_

_Keiji laughed, "Oh my g-d, you're...insane. Yes, confirmed, yes. Confirmed! You hear that? I have confirmed it. I'm on the record. I am okay with not having a big wedding."_

_"Thank you."_

_"I don't know about no guests, though. We gotta talk about that."_

_"Ah, well, hm, it's on the record."_

_"Doesn't there have to be a wedding-" Keiji was cut off as the voice memo ended._

* * *

_A voice memo starts. Shin is sitting near a waterfall. Birds are singing somewhere up in the trees._

_"Sou! Sou!" Keiji called. Shin turned around to see his husband. He gave him a small smile and waved._

_"Hello!" he said from where he was sitting._

_"We're like- we're all the way around the bend, I thought you were right beside us." Keiji sat down next to Shin._

_"Sorry."_

_"Are you okay?"_

_"I'm okay."_

_"What are you doing? Taking pictures?"_

_"No. I was recording."_

_"What are you recording?"_

_"I'm just capturing Nunobiki in all its glory."_

_"Do you ever listen back?"_

_"Not yet..."_

_Keiji kisses Shin on the top of his head and asks, "You ever think you're going to?"_

_"Hm- I guess when I miss it," Shin replies and he stops the voice memo._

* * *

Yet another voice memo starts up. Shin is driving down a road in the rain. He lets out a sigh.

"The date is Thursday, July 28, 2009. My name is Shin Tsukimi and I have been lying to my husband since the moment I met him. I am going on the record here to make this right. To remember. The time is 6:43 and I seem to have left my charger at Denny's, which means I have about 30 minutes _if_ I'm lucky before this cuts out. So...I don't have very long to convince him," he said, tapping his fingers on the wheel. Shin exhaled sharply and tried to get his eyes to focus on the road. He wasn't that good at driving in the first place but the rain definitely wasn't helping.

"Your destination is on the right!" called the GPS out of nowhere.

"Oh shit, that's a road?!" Shin exclaimed, taking a sharp turn. Another car honked at him. A branch scraped the side of his car, making an awful noise. 

"Oh, I'm gonna die out here. There is literally nothing out here! Not even a radio station...I'm gonna die and they're gonna find my car! But all that's left of me will be my phone.." he sung to himself under his breath as he road over a shit ton of sharp rocks. Shin slowed down the car and put it into park. 

"Okay. Made it in one piece. I can see Keiji's family country home or log cabin or whatever." he yanked his keys out of the ignition, "Definitely get the appeal of it. Peaceful. Remote. Great place to get some 'Me Time', particularly if you've just found out your husband has been, uh, you know...lying about who he is and refusing to acknowledge it."

Shin opened the door of his car and made sure he had everything. He grabbed the small envelope in the passenger seat and shoved it into a small plastic bag. He slammed the car door, "Oops! There goes the element of suprise." He walked down the small dirt road, a light rain still falling. Shin could hear a loud noise coming from the house. 

"I think someone's...drilling? Inside? So maybe he didn't hear me. Not that it matters. It's not like I'm springing a trap. You hear that, Future Shin? Not a trap. Mission is to salvage the most important relationship in your life. Just gotta make it to the porch," he said. After a long walk, Shin arrived at the small wooden porch. At first he hesitated, then stepped on the porch with a sharp exhale. 

"All that's left to do is to just...do it," he knocked on the door. The drilling inside stopped and Shin thought he could hear footsteps. He knocked a couple more times. 

"Keiji? Keiji, I can hear you on the other side of the door! You might as well just open it. Or you can keep me on the hook. Tough but fair, considering circumstances. I'm slipping something through the mail slot. Let me know when you've opened it. I'm just gonna...stare at these trees," Shin said, slipping the small plastic bag through the mail slot. Mosquitos buzzed around him and he slapped his arm. It was growing uncomfortably humid.

"Mosquitos! Fun. Okay, well, I guess there's two options. Either you're my husband, Keiji Shinogi, who resigned from the police force many years ago and now works as a part-time choir teacher, or you're a stranger in his childhood home. In either event, it'd be _really_ cool of you to open the door! Also I have to pee, so..." Shin stood awkwardly in front of the wooden door, slapping mosquitos away. He played with his scarf a bit, trying to think of what to say next. He let out a sigh. 

"Okay. I'll play your game. I'm not me. You're not you. Well... Whoever you are, you share a lot in common with my husband, Keiji," he let out a small laugh, "You have the same car, so either he sold it or maybe you stole it and didn't change the plates. So I feel like I know you, like we've met before." 

Shin took another sigh and messed around with his scarf a bit. He sunk to the ground and rested his head against the door.

"I drove like 27 hours to get to this place. If you were him, you'd open up the door. I know you're there, I know you're listening. You deserve to get to know the person you're trying your damndest to let go. I know you care." Keiji was considerate and kind, at least normally. He probably didn't want to waste his kindness on the pathological liar who also happened to be his husband. 

"Whoever you are, you have a thousand reasons not to trust, whoever I am...For whatever it's worth, I also have no clue as to who I actually am," He was on the verge of tears, on the porch of his runaway husband who probably hates him house. How pathetic for...whoever Shin was. He had a name, sure, but who else was he besides compulsive lying and anxiety? Nothing much.

"But I know this is the first time in my life that I am sure. I drove like 27 hours, replaced two tires during a storm! And I won't leave, until you open up the door. I hear you there, I hear you listening. You deserve to get to know the person you're trying you're damndest to let go! Hear me out, let me in." Okay, now he was crying. He was desperate. For...Keiji to open the door. For his husband to forgive him for all the stupid shit he's done. 

"There are mosquitoes everywhere...I think they're eating me alive," he croaked, pulling his beanie down over his eyes and sliding further down the door. He could hear the deadbolt turn and quickly stood up, fixing his beanie and drying his eyes. 

"I'm only letting you in so you don't get eaten by mosquitos," Keiji said from inside the house. Shin almost broke into laughter. He was so happy Keiji was finally listening, _responding_ to him. 

"So you're saying that I won't be eaten alive in the house?" he joked. 

"Not by mosquitos," his husband replied. The door creaked open and there stood Keiji, eyes tired and face hard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> some notes:
> 
> -i have no idea what importance the Fendermans have so i just...changed their surname and kids names 2 be more japanese ig? ya.
> 
> -really sorry if the dialogue is choppy. i kinda suck at monologuing. sadly, thats what most of this will b (since its..a podcast musical and single person songs are common in this 1)
> 
> -also i made keiji a part time choir teacher cuz like...i really didnt know what else 2 do 4 the students singing part. also him being a choir teacher just kinda makes me happy


	2. one thing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fhddshds sorry 4 not updating sooner!!! i've been suuuper exhausted lately due 2 chronic illness and i just havent had the energy 2 update this! also i kinda also got hyperfixated on dr-
> 
> but.......... here's the next chapter!! sorry if this 1 isnt 2 good, i wrote this sleep deprived and all in one day. enjoy!! <3

"Please close the door behind you," Keiji said, walking away.

"Hi Keiji-- annnnd he's walking away," Shin stepped inside the house and locked the door. He could hear a 1930s? song playing a couple rooms away, slightly drowned out by Keiji's drilling. Shin took a look around and could see a tarp flapping in the wind, instead of a real wall. 

"For the record, I think Keiji is still upset. Which totally checks out," he said.

"Can't hear you!" Keiji shouted from a couple rooms away.

"Yeah, I'm just-" Shin yelled back as he started to walk down the hallway. He was pretty sure he heard a duck quack.

"Shh, It's okay Sara. He won't be here for long," he said softly, almost as if he was talking to a baby. Shin stepped into the room. 

"Uh, who are you talking to?" he asked. 

"I'll ask the questions. What are you doing here?" Keiji said. Shin ignored him, turning to the duck at his husband's feet.

"Is that a duck?" The duck, which he assumed was Sara, quacked. 

Keiji sighed, "Look, I don't know who you are." 

"That's why I'm here," Shin lifted the plastic bag, "That's why I have these...Can you put the drill down? It's very intimidating." His husband complied. 

"Do you know what you've done? Like, do you _actually_ know? Or have you lied to yourself so much you've developed selective memory?"

"Let's see if I remember. If I recall correctly, I gave you a fake name when we met and I continued to use that name while we dated and then as we got married-"

"More than a fake name. You think I are about a fake name?"

"Yes."

"Well, you're right. I do. But I care more about the fact that I asked you point blank and you didn't come clean. Which makes you more than someone who lied. That makes you a liar."

"Okay."

"And I don't have time for liars."

"Okay."

" _Why_ do you have your phone out? Are you... _recording_ this?"

"Just a little bit..."

"Are you being serious right now?"

"It's for me!"

"It's for you?!" Sara quacked again. 

"That is a really cute duck."

"Yes! Correct! She's the best duck in the world."

"Where did she come from?"

"I-" Keiji sighed, "Her name is Sara. And she's here because I found her on the patio and invited her inside. She loves Cheerios and has incredible comedic timing and is kinda my best friend right now, which I'm sure sounds insane to you- but you know what? I feel like I don't have to explain things, seeing as how you refuse to explain the most basic things to me. Like, what is your name? Where were you born? Do you actually need food and sleep to function or are you some sort of cyborg?"

"I wasn't judging. She seems like a very chill duck," Shin said in an attempt to calm him down. He really needed Keiji to _not_ be mad at him at the moment. 

"Well she is very chill!"

"Whatever gets you through this stressful time, Keiji, I'm all for it. Really. I only came out here to ask you to do one thing."

"One thing."

"Yeah. One thing." Somewhere else in the house, there was a large commotion and what Shin thought was a lot of books falling off a wall. "What was that?"

"That was the sound of a shelf I had just installed buckling under the weight of a hundred books. Knew I was putting-" Keiji was cut off by the sound of a pot shattering. "And there goes my grandmother's urn." Next was a series of popping noises. "And- Actually I have no idea what that is. Pardon me." He stood up and left the room. Shin followed. 

"I know I'm not supposed to be asking the questions, but your parents are loaded. Couldn't they have hired someone to do all the work on the house?"

"They don't know."

"They don't know you're renovating?"

"You know, 'renovating' is such a strong word. Do you smell smoke?" Keiji looked around, catching sight of a small fire. "Uh, yeah, that's a fire! Just, ah, just stay calm. Just- just a small electrical fire! Would you hand me that blanket?"

"Uh- yeah," Shin replied. He scanned the room until he saw something that looked like a blanket, then grabbed it and threw it at Keiji. He began to attempt to beat out the fire.

"For the record, Keiji is putting out a fire with what looks like an antique quilt."

"What?! Oh, damn it, I thought it was something else. Well, as you can see, your timing," he grunted. A fire wasn't easy to put out. "As always," a sigh. The fire was starting to die down. "Is impeccable."

"One thing, Keiji. That's all I'm asking for." Keiji laughed.

"One thing. I came out here for one thing and that little bitty one thing, was to forget about you. But I guessed I learned something...That there's never really one thing, cuz pretty quickly one thing evolves into two or three or more," he began. The light in the hallway buzzed.

"For example, see the light, in the hallway? It was always flickering. Ever since I was little, it was always flickering. After three days here it was unbearable. My list grew, two fix the light bulb and one, forget about you. Drove to town, bought a bulb, one of those new LEDs. Brought it home, put it in, but the wires weren't connecting! Suddenly, the went on the fritz. My list grew, three rewire the ceiling, two fix the light bulb and one, forget about you."

He sighed. "So I went to the attic, and to my utmost delight, there it is - black mold, slowly killing us each night! And I feel that it's my duty to remove it. My list grew, four kill the black mold, three rewire the ceiling, two fix the light bulb and one, forget about you."

"Yeah but my one thing, is really just one-" Shin started but Keiji interjected with "I'm not done."

"See that tarp, in the hallway? It used to be a gallery wall. Lots of pictures, super classy. Sad I had to make the call...But, in scouring for mold I had to take the place apart. Because sometimes to solve a problem, you follow it right back to the start." The doorbell started ringing.

"Oh, who's that?" the shorter of the two asked. 

"No one. It just does that when it rains!" Keiji let out a loud laugh. It didn't sound too joyful though. 

"When I tried to rebuild the wall that I'd taken down, I discovered two holes, burrowed right into the ground. And I didn't have the heart to kill them so my list grew-"

"But then the cement that I found to fill in the gaping holes. It didn't stick! Apparently cement can grow old?! In trying to fix one thing I made everything worse. My list grew, nine, buy new cement. Eight, take care of this duck I found! Seven clean out the pipes in the bathroom and the kitchen. Six rebuild the wall. Five keep out the pests! Four kill the black mold, three rewire the ceiling, two fix the light bulb and one, forget about you."

"I think it's lovely, to see you fix up this old house because you want it to be nice for your family. But I think maybe you're obsessing over things you can control, hoping to control your feelings for-"

"What? No, no, no, no, no, no, no. These things needed to get done- okay. Okay. Just- just-" 

"So you came here, looking for one thing," 

"Just stop moving towards me, just stay on your side of the room, okay, so we can talk about this." 

"And you're saying that that one thing, was to forget about me?"

"No, listen, no- listen, if my parents are going to be so nice to have me out here and respect my need to be alone during this really insane, crazy, impossible time of my life, the absolute least I can do is, you know, just-"

"Well all I am asking, if for you to do the firs thing, which could also be the last thing that you do with me." 

"Just go around and- and...destroy their house."

"After tonight, you'll never hear from me again, if that's what you want. Everything we need to fix our marriage is inside this envelope. I'm asking for one chance." Keiji sighed.

In unison they said, "We'll do this one thing. It is the first thing we're doing together since-" "You left without saying a word." "I found out you were not who I thought you were." "So we'll do this one thing. It could be the last thing." They continued as they found themselves in the living room. That record from earlier was still playing. Keiji let out a deep sigh.

"Okay. The, uh, the record?" he said.

"It's part of this whole thing, Keiji."

"No, the actual record. Can you?"

"Oh. Oh, yeah. Sorry." Shin turned the record player off. After a few seconds of silence, the voice memo ends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lol sorry 4 the (awkward?) split upz of keiji talking i just...didnt want 2 make it one big paragraph ehddbdnsdbhwsb
> 
> ALSO if the part where they speak over each other is weird im sorry!!! i wasnt really sure how 2 write that part out 💔
> 
> umm lolz anywayz i hope u like the new chapter!!!


	3. sou hiyori

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HELLO IM BACK WITH KEISHIN ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
> 
> LOL sorry that thiz update took so long!!! school and stuff...also i've been watching lotz of dr playthroughz and thatz REALLY time consuming !! also i wrote thiz in one sitting so sorry if it suckz and if the timing iz choppy lol 💔💔
> 
> ANEWAYZ,,,,,,ENJOY!!

A new voice memo starts up. Shin is sitting on the couch, listening to the not-so-calming sound of thunder. His husband, Keiji, is sitting on a chair at the other end of the table.

"For the record, it is now 7:06 PM. My estranged husband Keiji has not kicked me out of his childhood home."

"Yet." He still looked pretty mad. 

" _In fact_ , at this very moment he is examining the contents of the mystery envelope I handed him." Keiji let out a sigh as the sound of paper crinkling filled Shin's ears.

"So far he's found a manila folder. Uh, you're going to want to shake that out." Keiji complied and shook the folder. A couple small items fell on the table. 

"For the record, Keiji is picking up a box of matches. And now he's picking up his wedding band, which he left on the kitchen counter because he's a drama queen."

"What's this?"

"Keiji is looking at a document."

"'The Experimental Generation of Interpersonal Closeness: A Procedure and Some Preliminary Findings.' My wedding ring, a book of matches and a scientific paper." He started flipping through the pages. "Oh. I get it." 

Shin pulled his phone close to his face and whispered, "He's nodding his head."

"The 36 Questions."

"The 36 Questions."

"Well, it's definitely a poetic gesture. You and I fell in love when we did the 36 Questions two years ago. Why wouldn't it work twice?" Keiji's words were dripping with sarcasm. 

"Ah! But the gesture isn't over yet! I knew it'd be tough for you to move forward without first moving on. Which is why _you_ have a box of matches and _I_ have this," Shin cracked a small smile as he pulled some papers from his bag.

"Uh, what's that?"

"For the record, I have in my hand, bundled together by a single rubber band, every document I forged over the past two years to be Sou Hiyori. I brought this here because I would like you, Keiji, to be the person who sets everything that is and was Sou Hiyori on fire."

"You want me to torch your gift card to some clothing store?"

"It's what signifies, Keiji." He grabbed a the papers and threw them in the metal bin on the floor. "For the record, I'm placing the bundle of fake Sou documents in a trash can-" he threw some lighter fluid in, "-spraying them in lighter fluid-" he spread it around a bit, and sat the bin on the table, "-and placing the trash can on the table between me and Keiji. So now all Keiji has to do is light a match and drop it in."

"That's all Keiji has to do?"

"Yes, that's all what Keiji has to do."

"Burn your documents for you." The look on his face suggested he wasn't too fond of this idea. Shin wasn't giving up though. He'd come too far for him to fail.

"Burn my documents for _us_. Here, I'll even light the match for you. You just have to drop it in. For the record, Keiji is staring at the match, looking incredulous."

"Why is it so important that I torch your documents?"

"It's not. It's important that we burn them _together_." Keiji still looked disinterested. Shin sighed and played around with his scarf a bit. It'd take a bit more convincing to get his husband to listen to him.

"There is something to the ritual of setting some old shit on fire. A way of saying 'This now lives in memory'. A way of saying 'It's only a memory'. There's something to the ritual of setting a torch to what is gone. The Vikings did it to honor a memory and now we do it to honor who I used to be. Let's goodbye to Sou. He was 26. Tonight, let's say goodnight to Sou and his fake ID's." 

Keiji scratched the back of his neck. "He was imaginary..."

Shin looked his husband in the eye, "Which is why we say goodbye to him, and hello to me."

"This is...ridiculous," Keiji sighed. His fingers were rubbing his temples as if he had a headache. Was Shin's plan really _that_ terrible?

"Why?"

"I don't see why I have to join your little cremation ceremony. _You're_ the one who made him up," he replied, pointing a finger at the teal haired man across from him. 

"It was a bit more collaborative than you're remembering..."

"All I want right now is the same thing I wanted two weeks ago: the truth. Why did you lie to me? And why does Sou Hiyori exist in the first place?" Shin bit his lip. He was going to have to tell him. Well not all of it. He'd spare him the details.

Shin took a deep breath and said, "The person who I was on the day you and I met was deeply ashamed of who he had become, so deeply ashamed of what he'd done. And when you showed him questions," a small laugh, "the 36 Questions he looked ahead and saw who he wanted to be. He built a past, made up a history. Details that fit this person named Sou..."

Shin's gaze turned from the floor to his husbands eyes as he continued, "Tonight let's say goodbye to Sou. He was 26 on his fake ID's."

"He was real to me..." Keiji's eyes turned away from Shin. He wasn't sure how to handle this.

"I don't expect for you to understand perfectly. I loved him too, as much as you, and he'd wanted you to bury him with me," Shin gently placed his hands on Keiji's and the blonde turned his head up.

"Okay."

"Okay what?"

"Give me the match." Shin picks the match up from where it's sitting on the table and places it in Keiji's hand.

"There is something to the ritual of setting fire to the lie. A way of saying 'That's one win for honesty, what's done is done'," he struck the match and dropped it in, "Tonight, I say goodbye to Sou, he was 26."

"Tonight, we say goodnight to Sou and his fake ID's. Sou...He was imaginary. He was 26." they said in unison. Keiji's head sunk as he said "May he rest in peace."

Shin coughed.

"Wow that thing's-" Keiji was cut off by a cough, "-really roaring."

"Yeah, I think I put too much lighter fluid in.", a cough, "Is that smoke gonna be a problem?"

"No. None of the fire alarms work." Keiji sat up and opened one of the windows. 

"For the record, Keiji is opening a window." Shin was pretty sure he just heard glass shatter. As he stood up, he realized he was correct. "For the record, one of the panes just-"

"Yeah, I think we can cool it on the record for a sec?"

"Okay." Shin pulled at his beanie a bit. He shoved his phone into his jacket pocket, but didn't turn the voice memo off.

"Could you bring me the bucket?"

"Sure thing!" Shin grabbed the bucket full of burned documents. "What are you doing? Scattering me to the wind?"

"It'd be great to not have this place reek of smoke when my parents come back."

"I'm handing Keiji the bucket. Keiji is emptying the bucket. Now he's spanking the buckets bottom," as he saw the last shreds of paper, he inhaled sharply, "And like that...he's gone. How do you feel?" Keiji handed the bucket back to him.

"Sad. And stupid," he replied as he closed the window. 

"Me too."

"Particularly because I just made it impossible for you to leave. Because of course I would."

"But- how do you mean?" Shin fiddled with his scarf a bit. A roll of thunder shook the room.

"You have no identifying documents. How are you supposed to get in your car and drive to a hotel and check yourself in? Come here, Sara. Eat your cheerios." Keiji pulled a box of Cheerios off a shelf and poured some into his hand as Sara waddled over.

"I uh...I have my passport."

"You. You do?" Sara nibbled at her Cheerios.

"Yeah. It's in the car. You want to see it?"

"What's the name on it?" Another roll of thunder.

"My legal name."

"Shin Tsukimi."

"Yes. Shin Tsukimi. For the record, Keiji has a far-off look in his eye." Keiji sighed. "Do you want to meet Shin?"

"I- I think it would be nice to just- see the documents that has your name-"

"Totally." 

"Okay, Sara, we're stepping out for just a second. Try not to tear the place apart." Sara quacked as Keiji patted her head. Shin and his husband walked out the door, into the pouring rain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hh i feel like the ending of thiz chapter iz weird?? itz the only way i can keep 1 song per chapter tho HDSJDN
> 
> hope u like the new update ❤️❤️

**Author's Note:**

> comments and kudos are appreciated!!! constructive criticism is heavily encouraged. thanks 4 reading! :]


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